Gerber Infinity Ultra task light

I'm going to order some Ultra Gs from County Comm. However, I was in REI today and picked up a forest green Gerber Infinity Ultra in the 1AA.

Couple questions: 1) someone mentioned that the new Gerber Ultra had a twist off tail cap. Mine doesn't. Is there a newer version in the 1AA that has a twist off tail?

2) All the advertisement I can find on the Gerber Infinity Ultra task light says it has two O rings. Mine has only one. Am I missing something?

3) My Gerber Infinity Ultra has just about as much light as my DORCY 1AAA. It even has exactly the slightly bluish color. Is it normal to have a slightly blue tint to the Ultras, or have I just got a bad one.

All in all, I'm not finding any visual difference between the Gerber Ultra and all the pictures I see of the CMG Ultra. The body seems indestructable. What is it about the Gerber Infinity Ultra task light that folks find less quality? Many thanks.

i think that gerber took over for CMG, and sump[ly placed the gerber name on the CMG ultra body.

later, gerber changed the design to utilize a twisty tail, instead of twisty head.

i think, anyway!

Bob

Gerber must have cleared out all of CMG's old inventory of parts before coming out with the twist off tail. I was at a Gander Mountain store and they had both Infinity Ultras available in identical packaging. I picked up an old style light with Gerber markings on it and it has roughly the same output as a CMG Inf. Ultra and a CountComm Inf. Ultra. I think by having only the one O-ring on the old style light there is less chance for water to get in. I haven't tried a new style one yet. The old style Infinities are great little lights.

1: The newest version from Gerber has the tail twist.

2: The old version has one o-ring. I assume the new version needs two O-rings because of the new design.

3: The blue tint is normal for overdriven 5mm LEDs. The ARC AAA. ARC AA, Dorcy AAA, Infinity Ultra/Ultra-G are all overdriven.


Your light is the same as the CMG Ultra except for the markings on the light. IMHO only the Ultra-G is preferable to your Ultra and that is only because the Ultra-G has a more durable finish.

If you are referring to the Ultra having lower quality than the ARC AA, the difference is obvious if you compare them side by side. The ARC AA/AAA have nicer bodies.

If you are referring to the Gerber Infinity Ultra having lower quality than the CMG Infinity Ultra, this would be comparing the newest version with the twisty tail to the original version. The original version is preferred and didn't need to be changed. CMG had it right the first time.

OK, while I was searching for an old first addition CMG Infinity at The Battery Station, I found an advertisement for the "newest" Gerber Infinity Ultra. Said it has a spring at both ends to keep the battery from rattling. It appeared (hard to tell) that it had a tailcap and was perhaps flat on the end. If it does have a tailcap, then it would make sense it has "two" O rings - because it has two openings.

If I am correct, it is most surprising that all the many product descriptions I found on many of our popular vendors show the old style (no tail cap) but have the same advertisement saying two O rings. A bit confusing. Thanks for the help.

Well, I ordered 3 of the Ultra Gs from County Comm. I believe I will find that the Ultra G is comparible to the older style Gerber Infinity Ultra that I just got today (with harder finish of course). I must admit I like the color selection from REI and the fact that if I get a bad one I can probably return it. HOWEVER, I have heard such good things about County Comm, and I simply LOVE the type of other stuff they sell, that I want to start dealing with them. NOW if only I could get a QIII from them /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Thanks to everyone for putting up with my repetitious and boring threads about these 1AA lights. Surprisingly, I'm having a blast playing with the one I have at the moment. I'm going for a night walk now to see how it works /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

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Yukon_Jack said:......If I am correct, it is most surprising that all the many product descriptions I found on many of our popular vendors show the old style (no tail cap) but have the same advertisement saying two O rings......

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The product card that came with my CMG Infinities has an exploded view that shows one O-ring for the head to body seal, and another O-ring at the LED. It is unclear to me exactly how that one is employed as it is behind the LED in the drawing as opposed the LED fitting through it.

Aside from the finish/color on the Ultra-G, I also like the U.S. Government-NSN markings which may cause the uninitiated to wonder what you're into. I've bought five of the G's from County Comm and am happy with all (one has since found a new home with a friend). I specifically asked for them to pick ones with well centered LED's and they were kind enough to do so. One was not quite up to my anal standards and they exchanged it promptly. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

I don't understand my fascination with this simple light source.....

Mark

I don't understand why there's an O-ring at the head end of the new version. The head doesn't come open, so I'd think they'd just pot the circuit in epoxy instead of messing with O-rings.

Well-centered LED??

That's cool. I am planning to order one from CountyComm. IMO, an off-center LED is unacceptable and should never have left the factory as "first quality."

I bought a Gerber Infinity Ultra from REI a couple of months ago. As soon as I saw it cast a more bluish hue from its off-center LED, I sent it back. It did not compare with the CMG I had. Hopefully now things have changed!

Re: Well-centered LED??

I think the LED color is independent of the centering. NONE of these lights have what I'd call remotely good color, but some are better than others. The Peak "snow" leds are supposed to have pretty good color--I haven't tried one yet.

Re: Well-centered LED??

I agree on the centering not related to the LED color, but more to the guy who got sloppy with the exoxy or whatever they use to install the LED!

Okay then, basic question: Who makes a top quality, small EDC, with one "decent" LED, using one AA or one CR123, with more emphasis on battery life than brightness (if this is possible today)? I have gotten used to my X5, nice flood, decent color for me, but still a little big for an EDC for what I want.
Thanks /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Re: Well-centered LED??

Hmm, if you just want one unit for your very self and don't mind paying a lot, you can ask Cy about an Arc AA. That's probably about as good as it gets.

I think the Peak 1AA and 1x123 lights were available in 1-led versions. Those aren't on their web site any more, but maybe they can still sell you one.

You might also consider the UK 2AAA eLED, which is about the same size as a 1AA light, weighs less (rectangular plastic body), is highly waterproof, and runs for 20+ hours on two AAA's. It looks like one of those Eveready keychain squeeze lights but has a focusing optic for longer throw than a bare 5mm led, while still having decent spill. My unit has a nice warm LED color, clearly not from Nichia.

Finally, if you're set on 1AA and really want long runtime, there are still some CMG Infinities (non-Ultra) around. They're supposed to run 24+ hours on an AA. It's about half as bright as the Ultra. LED color and centering will have about the same issues as the Ultra. I myself like the Tekna Splashlite LS (plastic body, very lightweight, uses 1x123), but that won't have such great runtime by comparison.

I don't know whyi like em either, but i still love'em. got a pelican LT-1 that's brighter, my E1e is not that much bigger,and a flamethrower compared to a ultra, But i love my CMG ultra and two "G's".
Weird as it may sound, concerning the offset LED, but my CMG
is noticably off, my "G's" aren't, but the CMG seems brighter with more throw. strange huh?
I am glad about county comm taking a moment to pick a good one. i'm thinking of getting another. i wish they still had the sonic "G".
with a lith batt i don't see this as a big deal for a keychain light. i keep seeing key chain shot's on CPF of an arc or peak, on a chain with a big wad of key's or multi tool's or a bart simpson doll and ya'll worried about another few gram's? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif in fact i just weighted a dorcy
1XAAA and a CMG ultra with a lithium and clip, and they were close enough not to register on my tobbacco scale. the ultra flickered up and down one extra gram from the dorcy, it's also shorter and only a little fatter.
I am sure if you can carry a multi tool, an infinity is not gonna be much of a problem! VDG

Well, it's subjective--I personally find the Infinities too large for keychain use unless you have just one or two keys. I try to avoid a big wad of keys, too. Even the Arc AAA is larger than I really want on my keychain, but it's not too bad. I removed it in favor of a Photon II a while back, but put it back on when Arc went out of business, as kind of a tribute to them.

Remember the Dorcy 1AAA isn't a keychain light either. An Ultra with an alkaline is around 55g and a lithium saves maybe 8g. An Arc AAA with an alkaline is around 22g and a lithium saves 3g or so further, so it's much lighter than the Dorcy, if the Dorcy really weighs as much as an Ultra. And a Photon II is about 7g. A Photon Freedom is maybe 8g, is reasonably water resistant, and on its low settings has longer runtime than the Arc or the Ultra (but is dimmer). Anyway, the Ultra is huge and heavy compared to these other lights.

The centering stuff seems to be pretty random. I have about a dozen Infinities of various configurations--some are well centered, others are not, I have centered and non-centered Ultra-G's. It's just not a big deal unless there's a blatant defect like Zoltar found with the epoxy. But I haven't seen that on any of mine.

I have a couple of regular Sonics and am not that crazy about them because of their design. The Sonic-G doesn't improve that; it's just a harder finish. Peak LED is getting closer to an Arc AAA successor but they still have bugs to work out.

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paulr said:
Well, it's subjective--I personally find the Infinities too large for keychain use unless you have just one or two keys. I try to avoid a big wad of keys, too. Even the Arc AAA is larger than I really want on my keychain, but it's not too bad. I removed it in favor of a Photon II a while back, but put it back on when Arc went out of business, as kind of a tribute to them.

Remember the Dorcy 1AAA isn't a keychain light either. An Ultra with an alkaline is around 55g and a lithium saves maybe 8g. An Arc AAA with an alkaline is around 22g and a lithium saves 3g or so further. And a Photon II is about 7g. A Photon Freedom is maybe 8g, is reasonably water resistant, and on its low settings has longer runtime than the Arc or the Ultra (but is dimmer). Anyway, the Ultra is huge and heavy compared to these other lights.

The centering stuff seems to be pretty random. I have about a dozen Infinities of various configurations--some are well centered, others are not, I have centered and non-centered Ultra-G's. It's just not a big deal unless there's a blatant defect like Zoltar found with the epoxy. But I haven't seen that on any of mine.

I have a couple of regular Sonics and am not that crazy about them because of their design. The Sonic-G doesn't improve that; it's just a harder finish. Peak LED is getting closer to an Arc AAA successor but they still have bugs to work out.

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I do agree with the photon, one reason I used to carry a PT eclipse, though bigger it's light and run's long, and the form fit's my hand better.
But I have seen other's carry lot's of key's and stuff, and still comment on the ultra being too big/heavy, and it just doesn't make sense imho. The peak is definately one light i want to try, but i would bet the brass model is as heavy or heavier then an ultra. just preference really. I carry my modded
solitaire now. one reason is that one of my arc AAA -P is too intermitent, where the modded soli works everytime. VDG

Yeah, the brass Peak 1AAA weighs about as much as the aluminum Ultra. The brass Peak 1AA weighs a lot more than the Ultra.

I have a brass Peak 1AAA prototype. It looks really cool but I never carry it since it's so heavy. I definitely recommend the aluminum one instead, especially if you're going to put it on your keys. The HA finish will hold up just fine, and it weighs about half as much.

Peak has a nice new website,(still has that window "fitting"
problem though) i don't see a pic of the lug, AKA ARC body light, but it's mentioned. I know it trite, but i wish they
would just come out with it as a "model" and quit the hide and seek. Yes i know there may be reasons for this but, really all of us know about it right? VDG